


Society

by Kumikoko



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, M/M, Mermaids, Profanity
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-01
Updated: 2017-08-01
Packaged: 2018-12-09 20:35:03
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,119
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11676594
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Kumikoko/pseuds/Kumikoko
Summary: Futuristic Mer People. A utopian society. What could go wrong?





	Society

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Flamesilock](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Flamesilock/gifts).



> -laughs like Eddy from Ab Fab- I am back, ya'll! 
> 
> You can thank my newest fan for my return. She planted the idea in me that I should write more mermaid fanfics, and since I know no one else is going to, and I wanted to have a decent mermaid fic (Mermaid Grove, popular as it is, embarrasses me greatly) I decided that if I could combine a mermaid fic with my current Sci-fi inspiration, AND the Attack on Titan fandom, I would cater to her request. I DID manage to figure out how I could combine the two and once I did, I sat down and wrote it. Ya'll didn't think it was possible, huh? I didn't either. But, here the fanfic is. And honestly, I am pretty proud of how it turned out. Is it perfect? No. Not by any means. But regardless, I am happy it almost reflects my vision as per what I wanted to convey. 
> 
> Eren and Armin are both eighteen, which I think is worth noting. I would also like to say that I do not own any of the characters.
> 
> (If I have the wrong Flamesilock gifted, let me know and I'll correct the error)

**Society**

Ocean Sphere 1, as anyone heard, was the same as Ocean Sphere 2, 3, 4, and 5. There was no reason to think that the other spheres were different either. The common rules of Law forbid individuality, after all. Everyone, and everything was the same. This rule kept the Mer people from experiencing envy and greed. Hate was not a concept either, since nothing and no one was different. The walls, to the color of their tail fins were a pale grey. Emotions themselves were quelled, as if they had never existed.

For hundreds of years, the Mer People lived the same day over and over again. They knew everything, and nothing at the same time. Each one knew the scientific method by heart, yet none knew the value of a life. This was the way it had to be, for the past could never repeat itself again. The Mer people knew the history well—previous races had succumbed to greed, envy, wrath and ignorance. They destroyed their world with flashes of bright light and fire that devastated the landscape and made the planet inhabitable. Only the Mer People had survived, who had encased themselves in freshwater spheres across the globe. It had long since been said that they were safe within these man-made spheres. There were no recorded incidents of people questioning otherwise either.

Two young Mermales, like many, thought they were happy living without uniqueness, and without color. This morning, they had their daily injection and were swimming around without a care in the world. Freshly eighteen, each of them would be assigned a job within the coming year, once Society, the Supercomputer, dictated what their role in life should be. But until then, they took the only moment of free time they would ever have in their life. It was called the Freedom.

During Freedom, all Mer people were watched by a guardian—as if a guardian was even necessary. Society could telepathically hear everyone’s thoughts anyways, so even if a Mer person decided to be daring enough to break the rules, Society would convince them to be part of One, to not break away from the status quo.

“I am not sure I am comfortable with _him_ watching over us.” The brunette Mer male whispered to his blonde haired companion. A gasp was elicited from the blonde.

“E-Eren! You can not say that. You’ll be sent to the rehabilitation chamber again.” The blonde, Armin whispered back, panicked as he swam alongside his friend. Eren looked over his shoulder to see the beady-eyed Mer man tailing them from a distance.

“He’s like a dark shadow.” Eren griped, obviously not deterred by the thought of gracing the rehabilitation chamber with his presence once more.

“You mean he doesn’t trust you. Of course he doesn’t trust you. You’re breaking the common Law right now and if I am punished alongside you again, I’ll—I’ll—” Armin stopped, at a loss for words. He swallowed thickly, and pushed the bad memories out of his mind. Armin knew that if he continued to think about the beating they had received last week, because of one of Eren’s shenanigans, he could be punished for becoming scared—for feeling, and “not accepting responsibility.”

“Fine, fine. I just, I don’t know. I have…I have a uh…a feeling? Not about him—well, about him too—but I want to, I don’t know… _do_ something?” Eren fumbled for words, for he couldn’t understand the burning desire within him. Where did it come from? What was it? No one else seemed to have it—that’s all Eren knew about it.

“Oh, not this again, Eren. I—” Armin began to protest, but he snapped his mouth shut upon hearing their current guardian’s voice cut through the water.

“Feeling is forbidden, and is a direct violation against common Law.” The dark haired guardian, Levi, warned them. He was closer now, and was definitely paying attention to their conversation.

A familiar, unknown feeling surged through Eren’s body upon hearing Levi’s warning. Eren whipped around, ever ready to challenge authority figures.

“Eren, don’t—” Armin tried as he placed a delicate hand on Eren’s wrist, recognizing that red light in Eren’s eyes.

 “Oh yeah!? Well watch this!” Eren taunted shamelessly, then spun back around and let that hot feeling guide him through the cool water. Armin squealed with surprise as he was jerked forwards, with Eren who sped for anywhere but here.

“Damn it!” Levi cursed, and chased the young men.

“No, Eren, you have to stop!” Armin pleaded as he was dragged alongside Eren who apparently had no fear of consequences. He could hear Levi commanding them to stop, but Eren kept going.

Both of their hearts rushed—Eren loved the feeling of being alive. Armin didn’t.

“We’re going to be punished.” Armin tried again, and finally placed his other hand over Eren’s wrist to meet with the other.

“Only if he can catch us.” Eren replied, determined to be defiant.

‘ _Why do you run_?’ A soft voice asked, infiltrating both Eren and Armin’s thoughts. Armin thought his heart leapt into his throat upon hearing the innocent question. ‘ _I have provided everything for you, yet you run from a trusted guardian_?’

Armin bit his bottom lip and thought about how he wouldn’t have attracted Society’s attention if Eren hadn’t been, well, Eren. Now that he was caught, and in just as much trouble as Eren would be, he quietly blamed Eren.

‘ _Do not blame Eren. You could have let go of him at any time_.’ Society told Armin.

Immediately, Armin let go of Eren and stopped. Armin took in quick breaths, and released them just as quickly, succumbing to the mounting fear of what was to come. A second, painful injection. A scolding. A beating. His fault. Not Eren’s.

As soon as Eren felt Armin let go, he stopped and turned around to see what was wrong with his friend. “Ah, are you crying?” Eren asked, concerned about Armin’s odd behavior.

“No, he’s hyperventilating. As should you be.” Levi answered, having closed the distance between them. He grabbed Armin’s wrist, and Eren’s. “Society says you two must understand that we are all One.” Levi added, and promptly pulled them to the medical building where a second injection would be administered to them. One that Armin had learned hurt, and had made him feel empty.

“I was just swimming.” Eren argued, but allowed himself to be pulled along since he knew if he resisted Levi anymore then he already had that the coming punishment would be worse for both him and Armin. Not that _he_ cared about getting hurt—that made him feel something—but Armin didn’t like it. “Is that against the common Law now too?” Eren mocked, unable to stop himself completely.

“Shut up.” Levi snapped, and upon coming to a building just as round and white as the others, he let their wrists go so he could type a password into the keypad next to the door.

Armin touched his own arm, where the morning’s injection had been administered, knowing that soon, one that hurt would be forced into him. Eren looked to Armin and saw the unfamiliar expression of fear on his face. Eren, like Armin, didn’t have a name for many of the emotions they sometimes felt. The only thing Eren knew about the facial expression Armin was making now was that it wasn’t a happy one. Eren instinctively placed a hand over Armin’s shoulder.

“Touch is forbidden.” Levi reminded the boys, as the doors opened. Armin shied away from Eren, knowing Levi was right. Levi headed into the room, while the boys reluctantly followed.

Once the door shut, water began to drain from the room. The Mer’s lowered themselves to the ground and once the water dissipated, their fins dried into human legs. Levi opened a closet and pulled a few towels out, one for each of them. They each dried themselves off, without a word. And when they were dry, the towels were discarded into a otherwise shut bin that connected to a laundry room in the hospital.

“This way.” Levi told them as he typed in another password onto a different keypad. New doors opened into a hallway. Eren and Armin followed Levi down the winding, twisting hallways. The ensuing silence unnerved Armin. He kept his head down as he walked, ashamed of himself for again breaking the common Law.

“Hey, I want muscles like that. Look.” Eren whispered to Armin. Armin looked up enough to follow Eren’s gaze to their guardian. Armin flushed red, and pushed Eren away.

“You can’t think like that, Eren. Guardians look like that only so they can protect us. You aren’t a guardian, and you’ll never be a guardian so don’t talk like that.” Armin quietly scolded Eren, who scoffed in response. Eren folded his arms behind his head and stared at the ceiling as he followed Levi to a nondescript room.

“I _can_ hear you.” Levi informed them, and began rifling through the cabinets for the required syringe, and medicine.

‘ _As can I_.’ Society stated, infiltrating both Eren and Armin’s mind. Eren and Armin both shuddered at the odd way telepathy made them feel. No one’s thoughts were private.

“Now, which one of you brats will be first?” Levi inquired, turning to them with  a syringe in hand. Armin tensed. Eren puffed his chest out and opened his mouth to speak.

Just then, the doors burst open and a questionable woman burst into the room. “Wait! Wait, wait, wait! Let _me_ give them medicine.” She exclaimed frantically, and pushed past the friends to snatch the syringe from Levi’s grip.

“Gods, were you really released from rehabilitation?” Levi groaned, knowing the high-strung woman. Armin shifted closer to Eren, suddenly uncomfortable with the idea of a recently rehabilitated woman giving them injections.

“Oh yes I was, and I don’t feel a thing.” The woman chimed, though too much emotion was in her voice for anyone to believe her. She began rummaging around the room, syringe in hand.

“A-are you _altering_ the—wait, no. Fuck it. I don’t want to know.” Levi commented, and turned a blind eye to the woman who was clearly altering the contents of the syringe. Armin noticed this too, but he knew he wasn’t in a position to speak up for himself. If this woman was altering the contents in the syringe, she _must_ have the authority to do so. Armin forced himself to believe it because that was better than thinking that some crazy lady was in control of the syringe.

“Okay-dokey! I’ll just start with you.” The woman announced, and headed straight for Armin. Startled, Armin jumped and took a step back. Eren promptly stepped in front of Armin. The woman paused and observed the two young men in front of her. Armin shifted nervously under her scrutinizing gaze. “Oh. _Oh_! Levi, this is what I was telling you about! Primitive apes would stand between their aggressors and kin just like what he’s doing with the thinner boy. Oh, how intriguing indeed!”

“Hanji, you can’t be serious. All notions of barbaric attitudes were extinguished centuries ago.” Levi groaned, attempting to remind her that their community had evolved to the point of not having enemies, and thus they didn’t have a reason to incur violence, nor engage in it.

“Apes!?” Eren balked, offended that the woman compared him to an ape. Armin blinked, and thought about Hanji’s comparison. Eren had always challenged adults, and stood in the way of people coming towards Armin. But why? No one was here to hurt Armin, nor anybody else.

Violence disappeared from the world when the fiery lights spread across continents and oceans. Crime was a thing of the past. And with the advancements in technology, no one fell ill, and accidents didn’t happen anymore. Tragedy was nonexistent. And yet, Eren still felt a need to protect Armin? Armin blinked again as he mulled the thoughts over in his mind.

_Why does Eren feel a need to protect me when we are safe here_? Armin wondered to himself, becoming unaware of his surroundings as he continued to think. _Does he know something I don’t_? Armin thought to the last time the syringe had hurt him, and how Eren had eventually showed concern for him. _Does he want to protect me from that? But why? It’s only a mandatory rehabilitation technique_ … _one that I…that_ _I_ …

All of a sudden, Armin balked as he realized two things:

One: Violence never disappeared.

Two: They were not safe here.

“Ow!” Armin unceremoniously yelped as he felt the needle of the syringe pierce his flesh. He jerked away. The needle snapped in half.

“Huh?” Startled, Eren tensed and rounded on Hanji. “What the hell did you do to him!?” Eren hotly demanded to know. Hanji and Levi appeared just as startled as he.

“I—I didn’t do anything out of the ordinary.” Hanji insisted defensively.

“Shit, I knew I shouldn’t have let you touch them.” Levi groaned, knowing Society was going to be pissed off at him now too.

Armin panted as terrifying new thoughts raced through his head. Eren’s protective anger only confirmed Armin’s growing fears. They both knew Hanji, and not just because she was one of the few doctors to disappear to rehabilitation camp. “Did you alter the syringe dose?” Armin asked urgently, concerned that he was going to be right.

Hanji opened her mouth to reply, then clamped her mouth shut. Armin understood that silence was an answer. “You did it, then. All of those years ago, you altered our doses. You made us different. _That’s_ why Eren feels, isn’t it?” Armin accused frantically, realizing she wasn’t a bad person. Society was.

“Huh?” Eren repeated, looking back and forth between Hanji and Armin. He didn’t understand where Armin was going with this, nor why Armin was expressing such pure, raw emotion now. Hanji shifted, uncomfortable for a moment, but then she straightened up her back.

“Yes. I wanted to study you, and the select few others.” Hanji admitted, knowing she had been found out. Levi balked. “What? Don’t look at me like that. I am a scientist. I want to study emotion, and understand why it was considered primitive.”

Armin shook his head and set a hand on his forehead. He heard the sirens blare suddenly, and knew they were all in grave danger. Hanji had just confirmed to him that the daily syringes everyone received were meant to dilute their natural, instinctual emotions in the hopes of eradicating them as if they were a hindrance. The adults around them were monotone and emotionless not because they aged, nor because they “evolved” but because their emotions really _had_ been extinguished.

And all because what, some super computer decided that emotions were primitive!?

“Eren, listen to me. We have to run!” Armin suddenly announced, and grabbed Eren’s forearms.

“Alright.” Eren replied, ready to follow Armin’s every command.

“Are you insane? They will kill you!” Levi blurted, and grabbed Armin’s arm as a means to knock some sense into him. Eren thought Levi was in their way, and without another thought, he punched him.

“Let’s go.” Eren exclaimed, and pulled Armin out of the room. Armin hurried after Eren, letting him lead the way. Their hearts pounded hard against their bones.

“What if he’s right, Eren? What if when people learn the truth, they are murdered?” Armin wondered fearfully.  He thought about Eren’s father who disappeared one day, and his own parents who disappeared without a trace. No one had ever given him nor Eren an explanation as to where the adults might have gone.

“I’ll kill them before they can kill us then.” Eren answered simply, as if the answer was obvious.

“Do you have any idea of what you’re saying!? We don’t have the faintest idea about killing.” Armin protested, hating the idea of violence.

“Sure I do. I punch them until they stop moving.” Eren replied, having no qualms about committing primitive acts of violence if it saved both his and Armin’s life.

_There has to be another way_. Armin thought to himself, and looked around them. The rooms, from what Armin remembered, had no windows. There was only one exit.  They were nearing it. If they could arrive there before anyone else, they could potentially escape into the water. However, they would be targeted by all available guardians. Armin skidded to a halt.

“Eren, stop. We can’t win.” Armin said, pulling away from Eren. Eren halted, and turned to face Armin. “Society knows our every thought. This means that if we found an alternate escape route, a guardian would be able to track us down. There’s no where to hide.” Armin admitted, knowing fighting was futile.

“We have to try, Armin. We— _I_ have to try.” Eren told Armin, and grabbed his hands in his. “If you want to surrender, I won’t fault you for it. But I was born to fight and I will fight. None of this is okay, and you understand that now too.”

“You mean you _knew_ that this life we live is a lie?” Armin inquired, shocked that Eren knew something he hadn’t.

“This isn’t life, Armin. Us running from guardians, punching guardians, and defying authority? That’s life. That’s living. It makes me feel alive when nothing else does…and I will die feeling alive.” Eren promised Armin and set a copper hand against Armin’s fair, cheek. Armin placed his hand over Eren’s and stared into his friends passionate green eyes.  

Eren had an unyielding passion, one that hadn’t been quelled nor deterred by doses of chemicals. Armin felt foreign tears gather in the corners of his eyes, and slide down his cheeks. Eren cracked a small smile, and rubbed a tear away.

“You’re smart. You’ll be okay.” Eren assured Armin, and leaned forwards. Their lips met. Armin’s eyes widened at the surprising physical contact, and just how comforted he became from it.

Hurried footsteps made Eren straighten and turn around to face their pursuers. Three sturdy men were heading for Eren and Armin. Armin recognized them as guardians.

_Eren can’t win_. Armin knew, and watched his friend heroically, and rashly charge the men. Eren jumped up and punched the middle man. Armin felt some excitement, and pride watching Eren fight against their oppressors.

In a moment, the men had kicked Eren to the ground. The sudden violence made Armin queasy. Eren scratched, bit, and punched each time he found an opening. He fought even harder as the one man advanced towards Armin.

“Hey, h-hey! Don’t you touch him!” Eren yelled valiantly, despite how he was busy getting the life kicked out of him. Armin’s theory had been correct—these men didn’t intend to let the boys live now that they knew the truth.

“W-wait. I won’t say anything to anyone—I swear!” Armin insisted fearfully as he backed away from the approaching man. The burly man caught Armin by his neck, and slammed him against the wall, knocking the wind out of him.

As soon as Armin realized he couldn’t breathe, he began clawing at the hands around his neck. He whimpered, fearing that this was indeed the end for both him, and Eren who was relentlessly kicked.

All of a sudden, Armin could breathe again. He opened his eyes and saw the guardian was on the ground. Levi grabbed Armin’s wrist and pushed him back the way they had came.

“Go! There is an alternate exit door. Find it.” Levi shouted urgently, then turned his attention to the fight at hand. Armin opened his mouth to protest, but Eren’s sudden collaborated shout stunned him silent.

“Go!” Eren choked out, not needing to hear anything more from Levi to know that Armin had a chance to escape. Armin trembled, and then he ran. Hanji passed him by. Armin assumed she was going to help Levi get himself killed.

_A door…where would a secret door be_? Armin wondered as he raced through the empty halls. Medical staff was not normally present, for any illness or injury was cured with vibration and sound machines. Machines that probably had a conscious mind of their own too. Armin shuddered at the thought and continued to turn corners and peer into rooms he could enter.

The hospital seemed more and more like a maze. Armin became lost, and disoriented from the dead-ends. He hadn’t found an exit door he could go through. Armin slowed, realizing he was once again in the center of the hospital. He stopped, and thought about how the whole building was spherical. The entrance was on the bottom. Armin looked up, and saw a suspicious dark circle on the ceiling. There was a keypad on the top as well.

_But how do I reach it_? Armin wondered. He didn’t see anything that he could stand on that could give him the height required to reach the ceiling. Just then, a roaring sound caught his attention. Armin looked over into the hallway he had originally fled from to see water rushing his way. Armin gasped and braced himself for the impact. He was still washed away, down the hall, and slammed against the wall.

Armin clambered up, and waded through the oncoming water. He struggled down the hall, back to the middle room where Levi, Eren, and the guardians washed up in. Hanji was present as well. No one was fighting—not while they were struggling to remain standing. The room was filling up quick, but not fast enough for anyone’s liking. Their legs turned to fins, which prevented them from fighting until they were submerged into water.

As soon as they could fight, they did. Armin was focused on the ceiling, and jumped up at it, only to splash back into the water. Hanji tried to reach the ceiling as well.

“You have to let me type the password in. We only get one chance at this.” Hanji scolded Armin.

“If you just tell me the password I can type it in too!” Armin shot back, knowing they were running out of time. Levi and Eren could not hold the brutes off for much longer.

“Don’t be so impatient. Levi’s got this.” Hanji said and gestured to Levi, who was struggling to free himself from being underneath one of the men.

“I am g-glad you are s-so confident I g-got this…” Levi muttered sarcastically through ragged breaths and between punches. Eren looked as if he was being over powered again as well. “G-getting the shit beat o-out of me but s-sure…I got this…” Levi continued to groan, and swore he saw stars as he was punched again.

“As I said.” Hanji quipped, despite Armin’s look of doubt.

The water  wasn’t rising fast enough. Armin made a split second decision to ram into the guardian on top of Levi. The two rolled about in the water. Armin flailed, and grabbed his aching shoulder. He flapped his tailfin to ascend. The guardian he had knocked over grabbed him by the fin, and in a display of strength, whacked Armin against the desk.

“Damn it!” Eren exclaimed, and fought with more vigor in hopes of breaking free long enough to come to Armin’s aide. Levi straightened out and rejoined the fray. Hanji seized the opportunity to enter the password into the keypad. A loud, creaking, thundering noise roared over the blaring alarm as the doors parted.

“Go Kids!” Hanji yelled, letting everyone know the doors were open.

Armin bolted for the doors. Levi smacked a guardian with his tail fin, which allowed Eren to escape and follow Armin. Hanji descended to help Levi give the two younger Mers a chance to escape. Eren and Armin pulled themselves up and crawled on to the smooth, round roof of the sphere.

Water began to overflow, and cascade down around the sphere.

“Where are we?” Armin asked, because he could see the enormous blue sphere that housed him since birth. He was outside of it, thanks to the placement of the hospital sphere. The ceiling of the hospital sphere had not only been a way out of that building, but it had led completely out of the home sphere.

Eren panted, exhausted from the fight. "We...we did it." Eren forced a smile onto his face, and tried to blink the oncoming darkness away, but he couldn’t. Within a moment, he collapsed and rolled off of the sphere. Armin gasped loudly, and lunged forwards to catch Eren by the tailfin.  Since Armin had no way of grounding himself, he and Eren toppled over the sphere.

Together, they plummeted to a uncertain fate.  


End file.
